SUMERIAN CULTURAL AND SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS

I. Sumerian writing is generally regarded as the first written language.

  1. Sumerian writing was called "Cuneiform".
  2. Tools included clay tablets and a wedged shapped stylus to produce writing.
  3. Over 200,000, many from city of Mari, have been preserved.
  4. Writing was deciphered by Sir Henry Rawlinson after finding the "Rock of Behistun" in present-day Iran.
II. Sumerian literature is among the earliest known writings.
  1. Literature was almost always religious oriented or a historical record of kings.
  2. The "Gilgamesh Epic" is generally regarded as the greatest literature prior to the O.T.
  3. Epic poem centered around the heroic tales of a great king.
  4. Epic is very similar to parts of the O.T. suggesting they were contemporary.
III. Hammurabi's law code was the earliest known law code in existence.
  1. The code contained 282 laws.
  2. Code was based on retribution, not justice.
  3. Code was not fair between social classes.
IV. Social Classes were similar to those in other early civilizations.
  1. Upper class contained nobles, priests, government officials and warriors.
  2. Merchants, traders and artisans made up a middle or "Freeman" class.
  3. Serfs and slaves made up majority of population and were responsible for all manual labor.
  4. Sumerian society was "Matriarchial" and women had a highly respected place in society.
V. Sumerian religion was the unifying and dominant force which provided the basic value structure of the society.
  1. Sumerian civilization was characterized by polytheism, animism, anthropromorphism.
  2. Sumerians had a strong belief in life after death.
  3. Sumerians also believed that each person had a "Ghost" which followed the individual at all times.
  4. Earth was looked upon as a scary and gloomy place.
  5. Priests used divination (fortune-telling), astronomy and temple prostitution to control society.
  6. Sumerian gods were cruel and capricious.
  7. Sumerian pantheon included (A) Enlil: ruler of all other gods represented by the air or wind; (B) Anu: the Sky god; (C) Enki or Ea: god of the earth and water; (D) Ishtar: referred to as the "Whore of Babylon" in the O.T., she was the goddess of love and fertility.
VI. Sumerian art and architecture was ornate and complex.
  1. Art was primarily used for religious purposes.
  2. Painting and sculpture was the main median used.
  3. while most cities were simple in structure, the ziggurat was one of the world's first great architectural structures.
  4. Sumerians developed a complex system of sewers and flush toliets to rid cities of waste and unhealthy affects of swamps.
VII. Sumerian scientific achievements were important to the modern world.
  1. Sumerians invented the wheel C. 3700 BC.
  2. Sumerians developed a math system based on the numeral 60 which was the basis of time in modern world.
  3. Earliest concepts in algebra and geometry were formulated.
  4. A system of weights and measures were developed which served the ancient world until the Roman period.
  5. Many of the constellations were mapped by the Sumerians.
VIII. The Sumerian civilization ended when the Tigris Euphrates valley was overrun by the Hittites C. 1600 BC
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